Wednesday, July 11, 2012

A talmid chochom named Shprintza

Here is something interesting. In the beginning of Rabbi Moses Kunitz's Ben Yochai (Vienna 1815) he has a page dedicated to what a wonderful family he came from. He mentions that his great-grandmother Hendel's sister was the famous Rabbanit, Shprintze, the wife of R. Mordechai Kaempner (1700-48).

"They said about her that she was an expert in all the defective and plene spellings, as well as the massorahs of all the Biblical books. You could not quote to her a mishnah or aggadah in all of the Babylonian or Jerusalem Talmud that she did not know by heart. She was also a noted beauty, and her charitableness/ righteousness was well known"

I actually own a hardcopy reprint of the sefer "Ben Yochai" - 1815 edition.

It was reprinted in original form by "Mechon Zichron Kedoshei Polin" in 1998 and I bought it while learning in e"y. However.. they left out one page.

Guess which?? You got it.. the Mazkeres Ahava / Shprintza page..

I only noticed this on Shabbos when I wanted to share this interesting tidbit with my wife, but alas there was nothing to show!

I'm not sure if I should be deducing another episode of modern day censorship.. but I will say that Hebrewbooks.org gets another kudos for this one. For they have yet again preserved the whole truth in un-abridged form!!